Physicists have, for the first time ever, successfully compressed an unstable nucleus, Nickel 56. This nucleus is not found on Earth but is present when a star explodes at the end of its life ...

The nuclei of certain atoms are stable and under ordinary circumstances, stable nuclei do not undergo change. The nuclei of other atoms are unstable. These nuclei undergo change spontaneously, that is ...

A research team at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) is the first ever to observe a beta-delayed neutron emission from fluorine-25, a rare, unstable nuclide. Using the FRIB Decay Station ...

Radioactive decay is a fundamental process in nature by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. Studying nuclear decay modes is crucial for understanding properties of atomic ...

Alpha decay represents a fundamental mode of radioactive disintegration wherein an unstable nucleus emits an alpha particle—a tightly bound cluster of two protons and two neutrons. This process not ...

Nobel Prize-winning physicist Frank Wilczek explores the secrets of the cosmos. Read previous columns here. In 1935, the physicist Erwin Schrödinger invented a thought-experiment to test whether ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. The Universe is out there, waiting for you to discover it. Our Universe is old: 13.8 billion years old, to be precise. Many of the ...